Tu Bishbat - ט''ו בשבט

Tu Bishbat: History and Customsby Joseph Mosseri

Tu Bishbat marks Rosh HaShanah La'ilanot "the
New Year of the Trees." The name Tu Bishbat comes from the date of the holiday,
the 15th day of Shebat. Shebat is the name of a Hebrew calendar month and read
as "Tu," is how the number 15 is represented by Hebrew numerals using the Hebrew
alphabet. This date generally falls on the second full moon before Passover, or,
in a leap year, the third full moon before Passover.

Tu Bishbat started
out as merely the date used in calculating the tithe on tree fruit, and evolved
into a minor holiday.

Tu Bishbat is not mentioned at all in the TaNaKH.
The earliest mention of it is the Mishnah which was completed around the year
200 CE. In fact even in the Mishnah it is only mentioned once in Masekhet Rosh
Hashanah 1:1, which states there are four new years. Only two of the new years
listed have any observances associated with them today: Rosh Hashanah and Tu
Bishbat.

The Mishnah states: There are 4 New Years. On the first on Nisan
is the New Year for Kings and for Festivals. On the first of Elul is the New
Year for the tithe of the animals, but according to Ribbi Eliezer and Ribbi
Shimon it is on the first of Tishri. On the first of Tishri is the New Year for
the years and for Sabbatical Years (Shemitah) and for Jubilee Years (Yobel) for
planting and for vegetables. On the first of Shebat is the New Year for Trees,
according to Bet Shammai, but according to Bet Hillel it is on the fifteenth.

We follow the opinion of Bet Hillel and observe the fifteenth of Shebat as
the New Year for Trees. Even so the Mishnah does not state anything festive
about this day nor does it mention any particular celebrations or observances
associated with this day. It is very probable that this day took on a more
special meaning when the Nation of Israel was exiled from its land after the
destruction of the Second Bet HaMiqdash around 68 CE. After many years living
outside of Israel this day added another connection between the people and the
land that their ancestors were thrown out from. That connection was none other
than that of partaking of the fruits of Eress Yisrael that Israel was blessed
with.

Over the centuries this custom became well known among Jewish
communities in every corner of the globe but it wasn’t until the 16th century
that this holiday was given a greater dimension. The Meqoubalim of 16th century
Safed invigorated this holiday by prescribing what fruits and nuts to eat and in
what order. They also said that 4 different cups of wine had to be drunk just
like when the Hagadah would be recited on the night of Pesah.

These
Meqoubalim were generally great Sephardic Rabbis who were steeped in the
mysteries of the Torah. They had a belief that Creation is composed of four
separate worlds, or levels. Classifying fruits that are eaten on Tu Bishbat into
these separate categories helped to symbolize these levels.

There are no fruits that could fit into the highest level but
there are fruits for each of the other 3 levels and it is preferable to have 10
fruits for each level, corresponding to the 10 Sefirot.

Group number 1 is
all fruit.

BERIAH. Holiness at this level needs no protection. (Some of
the fruits included in this group are not actually considered totally edible by
most people, such as apples; small seeds are ignored in the symbolism.)

The 10 items are:

Group 2
outer fruit with a large center pit.

YESSIRAH. These fruits are edible
on the outside, but have pits on the inside, such as peaches. The edible portion
symbolizes holiness. At this level, holiness can be left exposed, but its inner
core, its "heart," must still be protected.

The 10 items are:

Group 3 outer
peel and inner fruit.

‘ASIYAH. These fruits all have an inedible outer
shell, such as nuts. The edible part of the fruit represents holiness. In our
world, holiness is hidden and we have to seek it out. The fragile holiness has
to be protected within our world.

The 10 items are:

There
have been Sephardic Jews in every country over the last 350 years who have been
reading from a book entitled Peri Ess Hadar (Salonika 1753) and following this
ritual of eating fruits, drinking wine, and reading portions of the TaNaKH,
Mishnah, and Zohar.

It was very common for special bags to be made for
friends and neighbors, and especially children and fill them with all types of
dried fruits and nuts.

In old Jerusalem where the majority of the Jews
once spoke Ladino trays of fruit were sent as gifts like Mishloah Manot. These
were known as Platiko. The special bags as Frutas Bolsas and kids would compare
what they got and trade favorites with each other. These same customs existed in
many other countries as well but without the Ladino names.

Many people
would just try and have as many fruits as possible just to praise God and share
this bounty with relatives and friends. Others would take this opportunity to
study the laws of Berakhot and teach them to all those who celebrated with them.

In Aleppo Syria there was a special folkloric Judeo-Arabic song for this
holiday whose tune is still popular today even though most people have forgotten
the happy words. Another custom associated with Tu Bishbat in Halab was the
reading of the Aseret HaDiberot with the translation (Sharh) of Se’adyah Gaon.
This was done on Tu Bishbat in preparation of Perashat Yitro and the giving of
the Ten Commandments which is always the Shabbat after Tu Bishbat.

Tu
Bishbat is a happy day on which no Tahanunim are said it is a day that
reconnects us with the Land of Israel and there is a new custom (over 100 years
old) to plant trees in Israel on this day. The tradition of planting trees
started in 1890 when the teacher and writer Zeev Yabetz went out with his
students in a school in Zikhron Yaaqob for a festive planting. This initiative
was adopted in 1908 by the Israeli Teachers trade union and later on by the Land
Development Authority (Haqeren Haqayemet LeYisrael, also called the Jewish
National Fund). Many Jews throughout the world call Israel on this day and make
donations to plant trees and forests through out Israel on this New Year of
Trees.

Tu Bishvat/ Baqashot. The text of this song has nothing to do with Tu Bishvat except for the references to inviting guests to eat different fruits. The reason why this tune is used for Tu Bishvat is based on a Judeo-Arabic song with the same tune as this. Tabbush Manuscript